Ma'gog. (region of Gog). In Gen_10:2,
Magog appears as the second son of Japheth; in Eze_38:2;
Eze_39:1; Eze_39:6,
it appears as a country or people of which Gog was the prince. The notices of
Magog would lead us to fix a northern locality: it is expressly stated by
Ezekiel that "he was to come up from the sides of the north," Eze_39:2, from a country adjacent to that of
Togarmah or Armenia, Exe_58:6, and not
far from "the isles" or maritime regions of Europe. Eze_39:6. The people of Magog further appear as
having a force of cavalry, Eze_38:16,
and as armed with the bow. Eze_39:3.
From the above data, may conclude that Magog represents the important race of
the Scythians.
Source:
Smith’s Bible Dictionary
Magog
mā´gog (מגוג, māghōgh; Μαγώγ,
Magṓg): Named among the sons of Japheth (Gen_10:2; 1Ch_1:5).
Ezekiel uses the word as equivalent to “land of Gog” (Eze_38:2; Eze_39:6).
Josephus identifies the Magogites with the Scythians (Ant., I, vi, 1).
From a resemblance between the names Gog and Gyges (Gugu), king of Lydia, some
have suggested that Magog is Lydia; others, however, urge that Magog is
probably only a variant of Gog (Sayce in HDB). In the Apocalypse of
John, Gog and Magog represent all the heathen opponents of Messiah (Rev_20:8), and in this sense these names
frequently recur in Jewish apocalyptic literature.
Source:
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Magog
Region of Gog, the second of the “sons” of Japheth (Gen_10:2; 1Ch_1:5).
In Ezekiel (Eze_38:2; Eze_39:6) it is the name of a nation, probably
some Scythian or Tartar tribe descended from Japheth. They are described as
skilled horsemen, and expert in the use of the bow. The Latin father Jerome
says that this word denotes “Scythian nations, fierce and innumerable, who live
beyond the Caucasus and the Lake Maeotis, and near the Caspian Sea, and spread
out even onward to India.” Perhaps the name “represents the Assyrian Mat Gugi,
or 'country of Gugu,' the Gyges of the Greeks” (Sayce's Races, etc.).
Source:
Easton’s Bible Dictionary